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Sunday, April 6, 2014

This was a really great long weekend. Wednesday one of my best friends, Allison and her mom, Joyce came for a visit for a few days. It all started months ago when S and I told Allison how much we enjoyed seeing Cirque Du Soleil Quidam. She said if they came back to Raleigh and we decided to go to let her know because she would like to see them. In January I received an alert that Cirque Du Soleil Michael Jackson the Immortal World Tour was going to be in Raleigh, NC. Fast forward to Wednesday April 2, 2014 S, Allison and me sitting in the PNC Arena waiting for the show to start.

This was a great show and we all really enjoyed it. Allison said she wished they would have done more acrobatics. I will say I am not a Cirque Du Soleil expert this was only my second show but this one did seem to focus more on the music and dancing. Having said that I would still reccomend seeing it. I did notice there are a lot of stupid people out there. It is made very clear several times and an announcement is made right before the show that cameras and videos are prohibited. It does not matter the reason. They are the ones performing and could possibly hurt themselves. They ask that you do not take pictures or video and I sat in my seat and watched grown ass adults taking pictures. They knew it was wrong because they were looking around and holding their phone in hopes it couldn't be seen. I was just sitting in a seat watching the show and the lights from the phones and cameras were distracting to me, can you imagine what it could do to your consentration if you were in front of a huge crowd suspended from a wire 25 feet above a stage with a million other things going on? So yes it really pissed me off. Come on people think about it they aren't trying to be mean they are trying to keep these performers in some pretty dangerouse situations safe. Grow up!! Back to the show the performers were top notch and the band was amazing. It would be really hard to pick my favorite part. They did a really nice job of honoring Michael Jackson and his music. I found myself , along with most everyone else in the audience singing along to one or more of the songs. There was such a great vibe.

There was video of Michael playing on a large screen and clips from the videos that they would recreate. I was expecting them to do a little longer version of Thriller but what they did was still really cool. I am a fan of Michael Jackson's music but I am not what one would call a super fan so having said that I think they covered the majority of his major hits. The show with a twenty minute break was about two hours. If you have a chance to ever see a Cirque Du Soleil show do it.

Thursday S, Joyce, Allison, Bella and I went to Topsail Island for a walk on the beach. It was in the 80's and windy so we had sweatshirts on. In some parts the water was a beautiful blue, green. We all picked up some shells. I also like to pick up the smooth stones.

Bella had a blast running on the beach. Only a few more weeks and she will have to stay on her leash.

We also came across a sea buoy, inlet marker that washed up on shore. You don't see something like that washed up on the beach every day so of course we had to have our picture made with it.

After we left the beach we decided to stop at a local bookstore/gift shop that also serves coffee and has a wine bar. We wanted to get a cup of coffee and Joyce and Allison needed to use the restroom. Well needless to say not only did this establishment lose J and A's coffee business but there were a couple other items they liked as well that they refused to buy. This place did not have a public bathroom. They did however offer you the use of a city supplied port-o-potty. Allison made a very good point. If you are paying $5 for a cup of coffee and $30 for a pair of cotton lounge pants, not to mention you have a wine bar you better damn well have a bathroom for your customers. I knew when they really wanted coffee and then they were told they didn't have a bathroom that when they said they didn't want anything it was because they were pissed at the shop. I ordered my coffee. We took Bella home, went to dinner and then to Costco to pick up stuff to grill out Friday. Later that evening we are all sitting around watching TV. S goes outside to turn off the lights and goes to the other door. I happen to look up, not realizing he went outside, and just see eyes staring at me. I scream. It takes a few seconds for Joyce to look up and realize why I was screaming and when she did she said a few choice words and they said she looked like she was going to try to climb the wall. As a result of laughing so hard, S stepped back and twisted his ankle. He said he didn't mean to scare us. All in all Thursday was a great day. The walk on the beach was so relaxing and just what the doctor ordered. Friday we decided to take another walk on the beach. My mom came over for the day. S decided to sit this walk out. I was concerned about taking Bella for a walk on the beach without S because she doesn't listen to me as well as him. He likes to point it out to me frequently that he is pack leader one, Bella is pack leader two and I fall somewhere after. Well let me just say we BOTH did amazing. I relaxed and let her play and she came to me when I called her. I was very happy. It was a little warmer but still windy. We picked up more shells and stones. Another relaxing and much needed walk.

After we left the beach, we did not stop for coffee, we headed home because J and A had to leave after we ate. On the way home Bella curled up in my lap and went to sleep. Two days of walking on the beach and she was pooped.

Great times had by all. Sad to see J, A and my mom go. S and I didn't do much the remainder of the weekend. We did watch Gangster Squad. This was a really good movie. We both enjoyed it. Check it out. Sunday has been in the 50's and overcast. S did yard work earlier today while I did some laundry and made soup for this weeks lunches. Weekend almost over went by way too fast, but don't they always?